The Most Important Thing
by thunderbolt-sunshine
Summary: Tony and Ziva realise that being together is more important than obeying Rule 12 and staying on Team Gibbs so quit NCIS together to start a new life. Gibbs is livid when he finds out what they've done, though so they might not necessarily be able to stay gone.
1. Chapter 1

"WHAT?" Gibbs roared in fury.

"You heard me," the director said, completely unfazed. Vance had been Director of NCIS for several years now so he had become well use to the trademark fits of temper from the head of the MCRT. He'd also known right from the moment DiNozzo and David had come to see him two weeks earlier that something like this was going to happen so he hadn't been surprised when Gibbs burst into his office first thing on Monday morning. "DiNozzo and David have resigned. For the past fortnight they've been working out their notice. Their last day was on Friday."

"Is this another one of your plans to discredit DiNozzo?" Gibbs demanded dangerously.

Vance rolled his eyes in exasperation. He'd picked a hell of a week to stop chewing toothpicks. This mess was entirely on Gibbs but of course he was going to be made to look like the bad guy. He began to regret not insisting that DiNozzo and David let the rest of the team know about their plans before they left. Gibbs still wouldn't have been accepting of the situation but at least he would have had to acknowledge his Senior Field Agent and probie had left NCIS on their own accord. "Believe it or not, Gibbs I am sorry to see DiNozzo go," he said. "I may not always agree with the way he goes about things but even I can't deny that he is an extremely capable agent."

"Yes, he is!" Gibbs snarled. "So he wouldn't just quit on a whim and neither would Ziva. Tell me why they left!"

Vance knew that Gibbs was going to explode when he found out that this was all because of Rule 12. It wasn't officially a rule on the NCIS books but most agents, at least the ones who had regular dealings with Gibbs, tried to live by it even if the rule often did more harm than good. Vance had to admit that some of Gibbs' famous fifty rules were good ideas but Rule 12 – 'never date a co-worker' – was ridiculous. As if a rule, especially one set forth by someone else, could control what the human heart desired. "I believe their plan is to get married and start a family," he informed Gibbs bluntly. "Apparently they decided that having two parents as federal agents would not allow for a positive environment to raise their children in."

"WHAT?" Gibbs yelled furiously. "And you just let them leave?"

Vance rolled his eyes again. "I know this may come as a shock to you, Gibbs but neither of us actually control their lives. They're both fully grown adults and free to leave NCIS if they choose. Their only obligation was to serve out a period of notice, which they did."

"And you think that just letting them do this is a good idea, do you?" Gibbs challenged angrily.

"And I repeat: they're fully grown adults free to do what they want," Vance retorted. "I suppose they could have tried to balance this job and a family but I think we both know that it hardly ever works out for those who attempt it. I applaud their decision, really," he added reflectively, thinking back on all the fights he'd had with Jackie over the years about his job getting in the way of their family. Jackie was a loving wife who supported his ambitions so they'd always worked it out in the end but it hadn't been easy. "Putting anything before this job isn't an easy thing to do. Besides, after everything that's happened don't you think DiNozzo and especially David are due a bit of happiness?"

"Happiness?" Gibbs scoffed. "You actually think that this 'relationship' of theirs is going to work out? DiNozzo is too much of a skirt chaser to stay with one woman for more than a few weeks and Ziva will never be satisfied without a gun on her hip and a target to chase. In three months at most they'll both have realised that they've thrown their careers away for something that is no more than a passing fancy and any child that they're idiotic enough to have together is the one that's going to suffer the most in all of this!"

"Scuttlebutt around the agency is that everyone's been expecting something like this to happen for years," Vance smirked.

"Not on my watch!" Gibbs snarled, shocking Vance with his total lack of faith in his two now ex-agents. The director had always thought Gibbs looked upon his agents and Miss Scuito as his children and would support them through anything. Now he began to realise that Gibbs would support them so long as they did things his way or the highway. He didn't think a relationship between DiNozzo and David was a good idea so of course they shouldn't try.

What Vance didn't tell the irate Supervisory Agent was that DiNozzo and David's relationship did work and it had lasted. He remembered taking Jackie out to dinner to celebrate their wedding anniversary a few months into his directorship. It had been shortly after the MCRT got back together following the conclusion of the Lee/Langer fiasco. He'd been shocked to see DiNozzo and David having a candlelit dinner at the same restaurant. From conversation he'd overheard as he and Jackie were seated DiNozzo and David were celebrating an anniversary of their own. Listening to gossip around the agency he heard several unconfirmed rumours that the two agents had been together ever since Gibbs had briefly retired to Mexico. Vance had no idea if the couple had been together that long, nor did he really care, but it was pretty obvious that they were together.

NCIS regulations stated that relationships between agents were at the discretion of the Director. For a few weeks Vance had watched DiNozzo and David carefully but their working relationship never changed so, as Rule 12 wasn't an official NCIS regulation, he'd never let the couple know he knew they were together. Actually he'd mentally applauded how discreetly they'd conducted themselves. Considering how much of the agency gossip surrounded the MCRT it was a minor miracle that their relationship had never been outed.

Vance also didn't tell Gibbs that David was already pregnant. A fortnight ago she and DiNozzo had confessed to him that the child hadn't been planned but it was a very welcome surprise and what was prompting them to leave NCIS so abruptly. She wanted to stay home and raise her child for a year or more and DiNozzo didn't want to keep working a minimum of 12 hour days and miss watching his child grow up.

"But it has happened, Gibbs," Vance said sternly. "And before you get any ideas about interfering in their lives I have to tell you that neither DiNozzo nor David will be re-hired by NCIS." He handed a large stack of personnel files to Gibbs. "Look through these and choose two to join your team. You have until Wednesday or the decision will be made for you. Oh, and while you're at it make sure that Miss Scuito hires an assistant. She has two weeks to do so or I'll choose someone for her and she won't like the consequences if that has to happen."

"Abby won't like having someone else in her lab period," Gibbs said angrily.

"I don't care," Vance said. "This is an order that comes directly from the SECNAV. She hires someone or we'll hire someone for her. Forensics keeps getting slammed and NCIS can't afford to keep having every team delayed while Miss Scuito stubbornly keeps carrying the workload of at least two people. And I would like to remind you that the lab belongs to NCIS not to Miss Scuito personally."

"I see that you're taking the opportunity to hold your directorship above everyone's heads," Gibbs said bitterly.

"I don't deny that," Vance said calmly. He was genuinely sorry to have seen DiNozzo and David go but their departure had opened his eyes. For far too long his staff had been able to get away with doing whatever they wanted and not necessarily for the good of the agency. That stopped now. "This may come as a shock to you, Gibbs but I am in charge of NCIS, not you. It's time that you and a lot of others realise that."


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs was much too angry to go back to the bullpen and wait for McGee, now the only member of his team, to get in so he threw the personnel files Vance had given him on his desk and then stormed into the elevator.

"Goodness Jethro!" Ducky exclaimed a few minutes later when he burst into autopsy, slamming the door behind him. "Whatever is the matter?"

A strange expression crossed Palmer's face as though he might actually know the answer to that question but luckily for him neither of the older men noticed his face. "DiNozzo and David!" Gibbs growled.

"have they been pranking young Timothy again?" Ducky enquired.

"No!" Gibbs yelled. "They quit! Handed their resignation to Vance a fortnight ago and finished serving out their notice on Friday. Not that they bothered to tell anyone, of course. Slunk out of the office after I left on Friday. Nobody knew a thing until Vance called me to his office when I got in today."

Ducky looked absolutely floored. "Why would they do such a thing?"

"Vance says they're planning to get married."

A look of understanding crossed Ducky's face. "Ahhhh, I see. So, Jethro are you angrier that they're planning to get married or angrier that they didn't tell you they're planning to get married?" he enquired.

"What does that even matter, Duck?" Gibbs snapped. "They're planning to get married! Surely you don't think that's a good idea?"

"Contrary to what you apparently feel, Jethro I think it's wonderful news."

"WHAT?" Gibbs yelled, shock that the elderly ME didn't agree with him coming out in anger and volume. "You can't be serious! There's no way that DiNozzo will ever give Ziva the stability that she desperately needs."

"On the contrary Jethro I believe you aren't giving Anthony anywhere near as much credit as he deserves," Ducky said firmly. "You know as well as I do he will go to the ends of the earth for anyone he cares about and it's been obvious to anyone with eyes for years now how much he cares for Ziva."

"It'll never work out, Duck," Gibbs said firmly, as Palmer slunk out of the room, unnoticed by either of the other men.

"And I believe it will," Ducky said simply. "They are a good match. Anthony will challenge Ziva to be more than the deadly assassin her father trained her to be. He will restore her faith in humanity and open up a whole new world to her. Ziva will give Anthony the love and support he has been missing in his life ever since his mother died and teach him to trust people again."

Gibbs shook his head. "I wish I could believe that, Duck but all I can see is a train wreck, especially if they have a baby."

"Oh, it would be wonderful if they did," Ducky exclaimed. "Anthony and Ziva have both been very lonely for a long time and a baby is something that would bind them together forever. I also believe a child would be the very thing that would ensure their relationship survives. They both grew up so terribly they would go out of their way to make sure their child has a happier life than either of them have."

"I really hope you're right," Gibbs said doubtfully.

"Only time will tell," Ducky admitted. "But I believe I am. I'm sorry Jethro but I believe the real reason you're so angry is that they didn't tell you or ask your permission before breaking your precious Rule 12."

"Rules are there for a reason, Duck," Gibbs said stubbornly.

"Yes, because your relationship with Jennifer ended badly," Ducky said, eyeing Gibbs knowingly. "That doesn't mean Anthony and Ziva will have the same experience with their own relationship."

"They might," Gibbs said strongly.

"Maybe they will, maybe they won't," Ducky said. "But nobody can live their life based on what ifs. If Anthony and Ziva are serious about each other then they have a right to see where life may take them. I'm sure NCIS will be sorry to loose them but I can't help feeling that Anthony and Ziva were right to leave. You know you would not have made their lives easy if you'd known about their relationship and they'd stayed."

"WHAT?" a horrified voice shrieked. "Tony and Ziva left NCIS?"

Both men whipped around and saw a stunned looking McGee and Abby standing in the doorway. Having overheard the later part of the conversation Abby's eyes were already filling with tears and McGee looked stunned.

"Now Abigail, Timothy I'm sure they had a reason for leaving without telling anyone and I'm sure they'll get back in touch with us soon," Ducky said, hastening to try and reassure the two young people.

"But they can't leave!" Abby exclaimed. "Gibbs, you have to bring them back!"

"I can't Abs," Gibbs said wearily, mentally cursing Tony and Ziva for leaving him in this mess. "Vance has already said he won't re-hire either of them and even if he would they couldn't be on my team anymore if they're going to be together."

Gibbs knew that wasn't technically true and he knew that he would have to accept Tony and Ziva's relationship if he ever wanted anything more to do with them but he wasn't going to accepts agents in a relationship being on his team. Vance could fire him if the director was so inclined but Gibbs wasn't going to change his stance. He firmly believed that two agents in a relationship working together was a bad idea.

"That's rubbish!" Abby exclaimed. "Surely you can change his mind."

"I'm sorry, Abs," Gibbs said, deciding that this wasn't the moment to tell her about Vance's insistence that she get an assistant. She might actually follow through on her threat to kill someone without leaving a trace of evidence. "The decision's already been made."

McGee was still looking stunned but there was also resignation in his eyes. "I've known for years that they would get together eventually but I never thought it would be like this," he said, running a weary hand over his face. "What happens now?"

"We try and go on as normal," Gibbs said. "McGee, you're senior field agent now. We have until Wednesday to find new people for the team, personnel files are on my desk. Abs, I want you to see if you can find out where Tony and Ziva are. If they're smart they won't be at either of their apartments and won't answer their phones. Don't try and contact them if you do find them, though. Just come and find me as soon as you do."

"I will, Gibbs," Abby promised. "Just fix this, please."

As McGee disappeared back upstairs Gibbs and Ducky exchanged grim looks over the top of Abby's head. Albeit for very different reasons they were thinking this was something that couldn't be fixed. Gibbs was still worried that DiNozzo and David would get into too big of a mess for him to get them out and Ducky, sure that they would be happy together, was convinced they would never return to NCIS.

Regardless of what happened with Tony and Ziva, though nothing was ever going to be the same again.

* * *

_Thank you to everyone who read and/or reviewed chapter one. _

_I had a few people ask my why Vance said Tony and Ziva couldn't be re-hired. It wasn't because of anything they did. Vance was just imagining Gibbs tracking the couple down and forcing them to come back. He hoped that by saying that it would dissuade Gibbs from attempting such a thing. Vance was being a good guy for once and, being a family man himself, was attempting to respect the decision Tony and Ziva made to put their child before their careers. _

_I hope that makes it clearer. Also please visit my profile and vote in the poll about Baby DiNozzo. _

_Next chapter you'll see Tony and Ziva for the first time and find out what's up with Palmer. _


	3. Chapter 3

Tony DiNozzo woke up slowly on Monday morning to find his wife nuzzling his neck. He and Ziva had gotten married in a simple courthouse ceremony on Saturday with only two guests present. They both wished they could have shared their love with more of their nearest and dearest but the negative reaction they both knew Gibbs would have to their marriage prevented it.

He grinned and pressed a kiss to Ziva's temple. "Good morning Mrs DiNozzo," he said huskily.

Smiling, Ziva wiggled up on the pillows so she could kiss her husband's mouth. "You're never going to get tired of calling me that, are you?"

Ziva had debated for a long time about whether or not to change her surname. Considering her background Ziva was by no means a traditionalist and Tony had said he didn't mind if she chose to keep her own name but in the end she had decided to go for it. After everything that had happened family was the most important thing in the world to Ziva – her, Tony and their child – and she wanted them all to share the same name.

"Never," Tony said firmly.

And it was true. After years of sleeping around, after years of being alone Tony had what he'd always wanted: a family. He wasn't alone in the world anymore and he would treasure his family forever.

He and Ziva were spending a few days at a hotel before jetting off on their honeymoon on Tuesday night. Tony was greatly looking forward to it. It was rare for him to get one over his wife but so far he'd managed to keep their destination a surprise.

A solemn expression washed over Ziva's features. "Do you think they know yet?"

Tony didn't have to ask what she was referring to. The laughing expression fell off his face and, like his wife, he couldn't ignore the white elephant in the corner of the room anymore. When they made the decision to leave NCIS they'd agonized for weeks about whether or not to share their plans with their team and in the end had decided not to. Today was Monday, though – the first working day after their resignation officially came into effect – so there was no way that Gibbs, McGee, Abby and Ducky would miss what they had done.

"Probably," Tony said. "Gibbs usually gets into the office pretty early and Vance was going to tell him first thing."

"How angry do you think they are?"

"Furious, most likely," Tony said. "Well, Gibbs and Abby anyway."

Gibbs would be livid that they had dared to go against his precious Rule 12 and Abby would be furious that they'd quit, breaking up their 'family.' Tony didn't think McGee would be angry at this point. Right now he'd most likely be in shock over being the sole remaining member of the MCRT. The anger would come when he realised that he seriously underestimated the workload of a Senior Field Agent. Ducky didn't loose his temper so, if anything, he would probably just be disappointed they'd left without saying anything.

"Yes," Ziva sighed. "Abby and Gibbs always were going to be the biggest problem."

Tony and Ziva had discussed how their team would react to their relationship extensively over the years they'd been together. Right from the time Tony impulsively kissed Ziva on one of their movie nights while Gibbs was in Mexico he'd known that the Goth would be thrilled for them. She'd been hinting basically since Ziva started working at NCIS that they would be good together but Tony had known she could never know about his and Ziva's relationship because she would tell Gibbs. His time as team leader and proven to Tony how near sighted Abby was when it came to Gibbs and he knew she would never accept that Gibbs would do everything he could to keep them apart if he knew of their relationship.

Tony had long since figured out that Rule 12 was in place because of the collapse of Gibbs and Director Shepherd's relationship. He knew that Gibbs was only trying to protect them from going through the same heartache as he had but the truth was not all office romances were doomed to fail. It hadn't been easy for him and Ziva to keep their relationship out of the office over the years. The hardest times had been during particularly rough cases when they'd longed to comfort each other and on occasions when one of them had been injured on the job and they couldn't appear to be anything other than concerned colleagues instead of worried lovers. They'd managed it, though and it was by far the best relationship Tony had ever had. He was actually of the opinion that he and Ziva worked so well together because theirs was an office romance. They both had the same demanding career so their long hours had never come between them.

There had been times when they'd wanted to tell Gibbs and the others that they were in love but they'd always held back, knowing it wouldn't end well. As Team Leader Gibbs seemed to think he had the right to control both their personal and professional lives. Before Ziva Tony had never had anything of importance in his personal life and Gibbs had been good to him over the years so he hadn't minded the ex-marine's controlling nature but he'd balked when he'd realised that control could be what kept him from the love of his life. Sadly Tony didn't know what to think about his now former boss anymore. He knew there was going to come a time when he and Ziva would have to face Gibbs again but he wanted to put that moment off for as long as possible.

Right from the moment they'd said 'I love you' Tony and Ziva had known there would come a time when they would have to leave NCIS if they wanted their relationship to progress. Rule 12 wasn't part of official NCIS policy but keeping their jobs wasn't worth enduring the hell Gibbs would unleash on them if he found out they were together. They both loved their jobs, though so had planned to stick it out for another year or so. Their baby had moved their plans ahead, though because as much as Tony loved NCIS and as grateful to Gibbs as he was for everything the man had done for him over the years there was no way he was going to stand before the ex-marine and justify his child's life.

Ziva and their baby were by far the most important part of Tony's life and anyone who didn't like that…well, Tony had no room for them in his life. Ziva and the baby were all he would ever need.

Tony kissed his wife again. "Let's not think about that, right now. We can deal with Gibbs after the honeymoon."

"Yeah," Ziva huffed, sitting up and manoeuvring her body so she was straddling her husband's waist. "Maybe I would be able to think about something else if I had some idea of where we were going."

Tony laughed. "Not a chance, Sweet Cheeks. You'll find out at the airport."

"How will I know what to pack?" she protested.

"Zeeeeee," Tony whined. "I've already told you, everything we need is being provided."

Ziva smirked. "Well I'll see if I can get an answer out of you another way, then."

Tony groaned as Ziva attempted to finesse their destination out of him, severely testing his restraint. This was what his life was about now, though he realised, struggling to maintain control of himself.

Ziva was finally his and he would never let her go.

* * *

_Please remember to vote in the poll about Baby DiNozzo's gender. Right now it's a tie and I need a majority before I can close the poll and start thinking about baby names. Thanks! _


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